The present invention pertains to a baseball home plate with laser beams arrangement. More specifically, this invention is a solution to the problem of accurately determining whether, in a baseball game, a pitch is a ball or a strike with respect to the home plate. Baseball fans know that a home plate umpire is charged with the duty of monitoring strike/ball calls at the home plate. A ball is a pitch which does not enter the strike zone, whereas a strike is a pitch that causes any part of the ball to pass through any part of the strike zone. Horizontally, the strike zone is the area over the home plate, while vertically, the strike zone consists of the area between the butter""s chest and knees.
Specifically, from the umpire""s vantage point behind the home plate, it is easy to see the height of a pitch. It is also not difficult to call a strike when a ball passes over the center of the home plate. The difficulty arises when a ball passes over the edge of the home plate. When this happens, it is not uncommon at baseball games to have disagreements as to whether the pitch is a ball or a strike.
The baseball home plate with laser beams arrangement solves the problem of disputed strike/ball calls by an umpire, in such cases. A polygon shaped baseball home plate has a plurality of laser assemblies disposed along its front and side edges. Each laser assembly comprises a top lens mounted flush with the upper surface of the baseball home plate, a laser diode and drive circuit controlled to emit a laser beam through the top lens in the vertical direction. There are provided two switches that can turn on and off two groups of laser beams. When a baseball thrown by a pitcher crosses over a path with one of the laser beams, the baseball is illuminated by a distinct laser spot. This permits an umpire to easily determine whether or not the baseball passed through the strike zone and call the pitch a ball or a strike accordingly. Further, if the game is taped, viewing the tape in slow motion will allow to see whether the baseball was illuminated by a distinct laser spot and resolve the doubt if there are conflicting claims of whether there was a ball or a strike. The baseball home plate of the present invention can also be used for pitching practice by allowing a pitcher to see whether a baseball thrown by the pitcher is illuminated by the laser spot or not.